Orthopedic appliances are prescribed by podiatrists and related health care professionals to provide additional support to selected regions of the foot. While such orthopedic appliances are often secured to the insoles of conventional shoes, they can also be secured to the insoles of sandals. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,698, issued to Cherniak (the inventor herein) on Aug. 5, 1986, provides an arch support secured to an insole-like base plate. The base plate and arch support are attached to a shoe-like sandal. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 1,867,679, issued to Riehle et al on July 19, 1932, which provides a foot corrective sandal having orthotic appliances, such as a bunion-and bracing pad, nailed to the sole of a sandal.
As can be appreciated, when an orthopedic appliance is secured to a sandal, the orthopedic appliance is visible. A segment of the market finds this combination to be unattractive. Since the selection of footwear is, to a large extent, based on aesthetic considerations, some potential purchasers, needing orthopedic footwear, do not purchase sandals incorporating visible orthopedic appliances. The present invention seeks to fulfill the need of this portion of the marketplace by providing a modular orthopedic sandal having attractive, supporting orthopedic components incorporated into its design. Additionally, the modular construction of the orthopedic sandal of the present invention allows the orthopedic appliances to be concealed within the sandal and, thus, not visible.